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Zeus
Zeus (Greek: Ζεύς) was the youngest child of the Titan King Cronos, who ascended to become the King of Olympus and the God of the Sky, Thunder, Lightning, and the Heavens. He acted as an ally in God of War and also served as the main antagonist of both God of War II and God of War III, and was the biological father of most of the gods of Olympus and many famous demigods such as Hercules, Perseus, Peirithous and even the Spartan warrior Kratos as well as his brother Deimos. Greek Mythology In Greek Mythology, Zeus was the King of the Gods, ruler of Olympus, and God of the Sky, Heavens, and Lightning. Zeus was youngest of his six siblings. His symbols were the Lightning bolt, the Eagle, the Oak Tree and the Bull. Zeus was the youngest son of Cronos and Rhea. He was very well known for his erotic escapades with beautiful mortal women, resulting in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Hercules, Helen and Minos. When the loss of his older siblings by their father Cronos became too great for Rhea to bare any longer, she hid him from Cronos far away, giving him a stone to swallow instead. Once grown, the young God sought to free his siblings and overthrow his father. Disguised as a cup-bearer, Zeus mixed a brew into Cronos' wine, causing him to vomit up the stone that had taken his place, and then his siblings. Overthrowing the Titans, Zeus castrated Cronos and banished him to Tartarus. Later drawing lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades to determine who would rule the skies, oceans, and the Underworld, Zeus won the sky, and became the King of Olympus. Some sources claim that Zeus is technically the eldest, due to being the only child to not be kept from the world and trapped in their father's stomach, though this is disputable, and some claim fabricated by Zeus himself to lend validity to his claim to the sky before he and his brothers decided to draw lots. His counterpart in Roman Mythology is Jupiter and was known as Ba'al Hadad to the Canaanites/Israelites. In the God of War Series Birth During the reign of the Titans, Cronos was informed of a prophecy foretelling his eventual downfall at the hands of one of his own sons. To prevent this fate, Cronos swallowed all of his children, one by one. When Zeus was born, his mother Rhea was distraught at the loss of her first five children and devised a trick to save him by letting an eagle carry the baby Zeus to safety, while he was replaced by a stone wrapped in cloth which Cronos devoured, having mistaken it for Zeus. The eagle then carried the infant Zeus to Gaia so that he would be raised and blessed with the strength to stand up to Cronos. During this time, Zeus developed a deep hatred for his father, and looked forward to the day he would finally release his siblings; one of Zeus' drawings inside Gaia portray him opening Cronos' belly and setting them free. The Great War As he came of age, Zeus decided to put his plans into action. Zeus freed his siblings and declared war on all of the Titans, thus betraying Gaia. The new rulers of the world, the Gods, calling themselves Olympians, fought against their predecessors with great ferocity and power. The battle between the Gods and the Titans formed the landscape of the mortal world, shaking the earth with massive earthquakes and crumbling mountains. To end the war, Zeus created the all-powerful Blade of Olympus, which was used to banish the Titans to the foulest pits of Tartarus. However, the Evils borne from the war posed another threat to Olympus, so Zeus commissioned Hephaestus, the Smith God, to build Pandora's Box in order to house the Evils. Unbeknownst to him, Athena called forth a power that transcended any God, Hope, and placed it inside the box to counteract the Evils should the box ever be opened. When Zeus asked Hephaestus where to hide the box, the Smith God suggested that it should be placed on the back of Cronos. Using the architect Pathos Verdes III, he constructed an enormous temple to house the box and then chained it to the Titan's back, sentencing him to wander the Desert of Lost Souls for all eternity. Little did the great Zeus know that the events that had just transpired would eventually doom him. After the Great War At some point, Zeus had an affair with a mortal woman named Callisto. The circumstances are unknown, but the affair resulted in two sons. The oldest one was Kratos, a mighty warrior with unstoppable rage and ambition. Hera, displeased with Zeus for fathering yet another illegitimate child and (correctly) predicting that his existence would eventually doom Olympus, demanded that he kill the boy immediately after his birth. Zeus, at this point still a somewhat benevolent and caring figure, took pity on the child and refused. Around the same time, however, the Oracle foretold that one of Zeus' sons, a "marked warrior", would rise up against the King of the Gods and kill him. Noticing the strange birthmarks on the youngest son of Zeus and Callisto, Deimos, he sent Ares and Athena to Sparta in order to capture the boy and bring him to Thanatos. Later on in Kratos' life, having brutally slain his own family in blind anger due to a scheme by Ares, the newly christened "Ghost of Sparta" pledged to serve the Gods of Olympus, including his father Zeus, in the hopes that they would relieve him of his nightmares. This can be compared to the fate of his half-brother Hercules, who had also killed his family in a madness caused by Hera. About halfway through Kratos' penance, Zeus was one of the many Gods that fell victim to an enchanted slumber, orchestrated by Morpheus when the Sun God, Helios, was kidnapped by the Titan Atlas. Kratos eventually discovered that this was the work of Persephone, who intended to use the Sun God to empower Atlas in order to destroy the Pillar of the World and bring an end to all life, as well as her own suffering. Fortunately for Zeus and the other gods, Kratos was able to defeat the Queen of the Underworld and save Helios, returning him to the sky and forcing Morpheus to retreat. What they did not know was that Kratos had been forced to relinquish any hopes of reuniting with his beloved daughter in the process of saving the world, pushing his disillusionment with the Gods ever closer to open hatred and rebellion. Near the end of Kratos' service, Ares besieged the city of Athens in the hopes of gaining Zeus' favor over his sister, Athena. Zeus, having forbidden the Gods from waging war on each other and fearing the possibility that Ares might be the "Marked Warrior" who would overthrow Zeus, allowed Athena to receive help from Kratos. Athena told him that killing Ares would complete his penance and rid him of his past sins. During his quest, Kratos met Zeus himself within the damaged city of Athens, where he was given Zeus' Fury, the ability to wield and throw powerful lighting bolts. In addition, Zeus took on the mortal guise of a Grave Digger and created a portal to the Underworld via a grave he claimed to be digging for Kratos, allowing the Spartan to escape the realm of the dead (after Ares impaled the Spartan with a pillar) late in his adventure. Retrieving Pandora's Box from Kratos' dead corpse, Ares yelled to the skies, cursing his father for constantly favoring Athena and asking Zeus if he could finally see what his son was capable of. Ares declared that he would not hesitate to use the Box against Olympus itself, only for Kratos to return from the Underworld and use a bolt of Zeus' Fury to reclaim it. Kratos opened the ancient artifact and harnessed its power to kill Ares, his former master. Zeus and the Gods guided Kratos to kill Ares, as they had incorrectly believed that he was the only real threat to Olympus. The Olympians rewarded Kratos by forgiving him for the crime of killing his own family (although, to Kratos' dismay, they were unable to remove the horrible memories from his mind), and made him the new God of War. Zeus' Betrayal :See also: God of War: Betrayal and God of War II It was believed that Deimos is the Marked Warrior so it is very possible that Deimos' death and Kratos' destructive and aggressive behaviour led Zeus into believing that Kratos is the Marked Warrior who would seek revenge against the Gods of Olympus and one day destroy them. Another moment which led Zeus betray Kratos is when Kratos told Athena that the Gods would pay for that... Even though Kratos did not know that the grave digger was actually Zeus, he was there when Kratos exclaimed these words. Later on in Rhodes, Zeus tricked Kratos, told him to cast his powers into the Blade of Olympus and with that act, Zeus found a way to take it and kill Kratos as long as his powers would not be inside Kratos himself. It is later revealed that Zeus and the other Gods had fallen prey to the Evils locked away in Pandora's Box after Kratos opened it to kill Ares. Apparently, Zeus didn't realize that if Kratos used the Box, the Evils would be released onto them; he had instead hoped that the Evils would fuel Kratos. As a result, Zeus was overwhelmed by his personal plague: Fear. Overcome with extreme paranoia and frightened by Kratos' increasingly destructive behavior, Zeus soon realized that Kratos would be the one to perpetuate the cycle of son killing father. Just as Cronos killed Ouranus, and as Zeus himself defeated Cronos, the King of the Gods expected that Kratos, infuriated by the revelation that not even the Gods could end his nightmares, would kill Zeus. Zeus' fears were further exacerbated by Kratos' open defiance of the other Gods, ignoring their demands that he cease his relentless conquest and destruction of Greece. During Kratos' attack on Rhodes, Zeus devised a scheme that would put an end to Kratos' reign. He disguised himself as an eagle and drained a portion of the new God of War's power, transferring it to the Colossus of Rhodes. This caused the statue to come alive and attack the now mortal-sized Kratos, who initially believed that Athena was the one who betrayed him. Zeus further took advantage of the situation by tricking Kratos into infusing the rest of his god powers into the Blade of Olympus, the weapon that brought an end to the Great War of the Gods and Titans. Upon doing so, Kratos destroyed the Colossus with ease, but was crushed under the crumbling statue's hand soon afterwards, weakening the Spartan to the brink of death. Thus, in order to survive, he needed to retrieve the Blade, which had been knocked out of his grasp by the falling Colossus. As Kratos was about to reach the Blade, Zeus finally revealed himself, admitting responsibility to Kratos for everything that had just transpired. Zeus claimed that his motivation was to "undo Athena's mistake" (presumably the act of making Kratos a God) and prevent Ares' fate from becoming his own. The King of the Gods then ordered the Spartan to submit, but an outraged Kratos refused, causing Zeus to stab him with the Blade of Olympus. As Kratos slowly died, Zeus expressed his disappointment in Kratos, insisting that the Spartan warrior had made the wrong choice. However, Kratos continued to insult the King of Olympus, and Zeus responded by stabbing him with the Blade again, telling his son that the cycle has come to an end, and everything that he ever knew would now suffer because of his sacrilege. Zeus then destroyed all of the soldiers present, while a dying Kratos promised that he would have his revenge as Zeus leaves and casts Kratos into the Underworld. Upon leaving Rhodes, Zeus proceeded to destroy Sparta not only because the Spartan people worshiped Kratos, but to further punish Kratos himself. After destroying Sparta, Zeus believed he finally dealt with Kratos and returned to his throne on Mount Olympus. Kratos' Revenge Unfortunately for Zeus, Kratos was far from finished. Aided by Gaia and the Titans, he returned to life, journeyed to the Island of Creation, and killed the Sisters of Fate. With the Power of Time itself at his command, Kratos returned to the moment when Zeus tried to stab him with the Blade of Olympus, emerging from a portal and knocking the off-guard God King to the ground. Surprised at this development, Zeus presumed that the Sisters of Fate had unexpectedly aided him. Kratos, pulling the Blade of Olympus from his past self, told Zeus that the Sisters were dead. The King of Olympus declared that he had underestimated Kratos but will not make the same mistake again and the two combatants charged towards one another, taking to the skies as they fought. They ended up on the Summit of Sacrifice, where an epic battle began. Kratos fought Zeus furiously and managed to deliver several powerful blows, as he stated he would kill Zeus for his actions. Enraged at his defiance, Zeus unleashed his full might on the vengeful warrior in the form of a deadly electrical storm. Unable to overpower the furious god, Kratos resorted to military tactics, a feigned surrender that Kratos knew would immediately stop the onslaught. Kneeling in front of the Blade of Olympus he asked Zeus to end his life and release him from his torment. Granting what he thought was Kratos' final request, Zeus agreed to release him from his life, but insisted that his torment was just beginning. The Great God was tricked, however, and the Spartan, using the Golden Fleece to deflect a small remainder of Zeus' lighting, overpowered and took the Blade from Zeus, pinning both of his arms to a rock and began to impale Zeus with the Blade of Olympus, intending to kill him the same way he did to him until Athena intervened. Zeus took this opportunity to free himself, warning the Spartan that he had started a war he had no hope of winning. Zeus then attempted to flee, but Kratos immediately pushed Athena aside taking the Blade to make one more attempt on the severely weakened Zeus. However, Athena jumped in the way at the last second, sacrificing herself to save her father who took the moment to flee. Kratos was far more affected by Athena's death than Zeus, who coldly ignored her and narrowly escaped back to Mount Olympus though he did express concern for her later. Just before she died, Athena told Kratos that he was compelled to kill Zeus just as Zeus did to Cronos, for Kratos was Zeus' son. This was the cycle Zeus had mentioned when he killed Kratos before. Declaring that no son should ever destroy his own father (ignoring the fact that Zeus had already done the same to his own father), Athena told Kratos that Zeus must live so that Olympus would prevail. God after God would deny Kratos his vengeance, for they would protect Zeus for the sake of Olympus. Watching the fallen Athena disintegrate, Kratos felt betrayed yet again and, using the Loom Chamber, he returned to the first Great War urging the Titans to accompany him back to his own time, where a wounded Zeus had fled back to Mount Olympus. The Second Great War :See also: God of War III After the events of God of War II, Zeus returned to Olympus and told Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, and Helios about Kratos' intentions, telling them that they have to unite once more to preserve Olympus. When they saw the Titans ascending the mountain, the Gods immediately took action, while Zeus remained out of the front lines, likely still weak after his encounter with Kratos. After witnessing the death of his brother, Poseidon, the King of the Gods decided to join the battle, with his Aegis being armed. As Kratos and Gaia reached the platform where Zeus was waiting for them, the Spartan approached the King of the Gods, telling his father that he could no longer hide behind Athena for safety. Zeus then chided his son by insisting that it was his blind rage that caused Athena's death, asking the Spartan how far he was willing to go to have his revenge. The Ghost of Sparta replied by listing his previous battles before stating that nothing would stand in his way and that he would stop have his revenge. Infuriated with Kratos' defiance, The King of the Gods then decided to strike both Kratos and Gaia with his thunderbolts, thinking that they would both fall into the River Styx. Although Kratos did fall into the River Styx, he nevertheless survived and fought his way back to the top of Mount Olympus, destroying even more Gods and his son Hercules along the way. Zeus later indirectly encountered his son through one of Pandora's Statues, warning him to stay away from Pandora. He would not encounter Kratos in person again until he raised the Labyrinth, thereby destroying much of the inner sanctum of Mount Olympus. He attempted to stop Pandora from entering The Flame of Olympus while disparaging Kratos both for his obsession with Pandora and all of the destruction he has caused. They soon engaged in another fight, destroying more of Olympus' inner chambers. Their battle was interrupted when Pandora made another attempt to jump into the Flame. Kratos managed to grab her, but Pandora insisted to Kratos that he needed to let her go. Zeus, however, warned that he must not let her into the Flame, telling the Spartan that for once in his "pathetic life" he cannot fail like he failed in protecting his family. This inadvertently caused Kratos to let go of Pandora and attack Zeus in blind fury. With the Flame gone, Kratos saw and opened Pandora's Box, only to discover that it was empty. Zeus mocked his own son, stating that in spite of all his efforts, they ended in yet another "stunning failure", laughing his words further drove Kratos to the brink of madness. Zeus then retreated outside to the same dias that Kratos and Gaia confronted him on earlier, with Kratos following closely behind. The King of the Gods observes all of the destruction his son has caused to the world, telling him that he would have much to do once their battle is over. They fight each other again until they are interrupted by Gaia, who was thought to have been killed by Kratos. She returned to kill both her grandson for vengeance and her great-grandson for destroying her world, ignoring the fact that it was the death of the Olympians that caused it and that it would have happened anyway if the Titans had won. Zeus told Gaia that her pawn has failed her, and commented that she should have chosen the other one (probably referring to Deimos). Gaia then decided to crush the platform, declaring that father and son would die together. Both of them managed to enter the large chest wound she incurred earlier from her fight with Poseidon, making their way to her heart. There the fight raged on with both using Gaia's Heart to heal themselves in the battle. Eventually, Gaia was killed when Kratos impaled Zeus against her heart with the Blade of Olympus, which apparently also killed Zeus. Gaia's body slowly broke apart and destroyed most of Mount Olympus. Regaining consciousness, Kratos retrieved the Blade of Olympus from Zeus' "corpse", but when he tries to leave, he is attacked by Zeus' still active spirit, which taking away all of his magic and equipment except for the Blade of Olympus, the Blades of Exile, and the Boots of Hermes, infecting him with Fear. Kratos was thought to be finished, but with the help of Pandora's spirit, Kratos managed to forgive his sins and unleash Hope from within himself. He then briefly battled Zeus' astral form, eventually forcing it to retreat back to his body, reviving Zeus. Kratos considered of attacking him with his blades but paused and realized that Zeus was so weak he could kill him with his bare hands. He then threw his blades aside and charged at Zeus. Death Terrified, Zeus backed away and tried to stop Kratos with his arms, but was unable to resist the Spartan's fury and was thrown against a rock. A black smoke (presumably Fear) escaped from Zeus' mouth, possibly meaning that the Fear had finally left Zeus. Kratos then begins to beat Zeus uncontrollably, kicking him in the face and throwing him against rocks, ultimately grabbing Zeus' beard and beating him to a bloody pulp. Interestingly enough, Zeus does not put up any resistance when the black smoke left his body. It is possible that he realized that by causing Kratos so much pain, he was responsible for his own demise. Zeus' body disintegrated and exploded in a huge blast of light, unleashing absolute chaos upon the world, and with this, the King of Olympus was no more, thus ending the reign of the Olympian Gods. God of War (2018) Even many years following his death, Zeus still haunts Kratos. After Kratos defeats the Bridge Keeper of Helheim, he soon sees the image of Zeus in the sky calling to him. Kratos, surprised by the sudden arrival of his father, reveals to Mimir that he was Zeus' son to which Mimir replies, "Your father was Zeus??? That explains a lot". Kratos asks Mimir what that place was and how it's possible for the former King of the Gods to be there. Mimir tells Kratos to never venture there and that Helheim is known for torturing those with memories of the past with illusions. Later on in Hel, Kratos hears the past echos of Zeus speaking to him, which he ignores but would later see, along with Atreus, a ghostly reenactment of Zeus' final moments before his death, being beaten to death by Kratos. Multiplayer Zeus is one of the four mentors of God of War: Ascension's Multiplayer. His statue is the third one in the Rotunda of Olympus, staying right at the center of his brother's statues and face-to-face to any warrior who arrives at it. Overview The king of Olympus' warriors have the average physical powers and resistance from the game, but are the best in elemental damage. Their magic attacks, which come from the mighty lightning of Olympus, are incredibly strong, usually hitting opponents many times in deadly shocks and can disable some of their abilities for a short period when used. A warrior of Zeus must count mainly on his magic bar against his enemies. Their electric attacks can overpower warriors and beasts in seconds. Battle Mage Impressive elemental powers. Electric Magic Stun opponents and disable enemy magics. Zeus Items Improve defense and escape. Zeus Weapons Can shock enemies in electric currents or strong explosions in some special attacks. Zeus Armors Focus on enhancing elemental powers and defenses. Personality Zeus' benevolent side was more prevalent in the original God of War, in which he was depicted as a caring god who sought to punish evildoers and oath-breakers, even empathizing with his son Kratos' (who at that time was unaware Zeus was his father) grievances against Ares despite all of the terrible things Kratos had done. After Kratos opened Pandora's box, he was possessed by one of the evils in the box: fear. This transformed Zeus into a cruel, wrathful, paranoid, and power-hungry deity, as evidenced by how he started treating the innocent Pandora with cruelty. The evils of the box also caused Zeus to develop an intense fear of Kratos, whom he now realized was the "Marked Warrior" foretold in the Oracle's prophecy that would perpetuate the cycle of patricide which led to Zeus overthrowing his own father Cronos. Witnessing his ruthless murder of the Furies along with Ares, Thanatos, and Persephone, Zeus' fears were further exacerbated by Kratos' intense hatred for the other gods of Olympus (with Hephaestus, Athena, and Aphrodite being the only obvious exceptions) and his destructive rampages across Greece during his reign as God of War. In response, Zeus took the form of an eagle and siphoned off a large portion of Kratos' godhood powers, infusing them into the Colossus of Rhodes. He then tricked Kratos into transferring the rest of his powers into the Blade of Olympus, weakening him to the point of near-death before finishing him off for good. To prevent his followers from helping their fallen god and to punish Kratos even more, Zeus destroyed Sparta, killing hundreds of innocent people in the process. Not even his own family were safe, as he used them as mere pawns in his war against Kratos and the Titans, mourning little (if at all) about the losses of Athena (who tried to protect him, giving him a chance to escape Kratos' wrath the first time), Poseidon, Hades, Helios, Hermes, Hercules, possibly Hephaestus, and Hera, his wife. But when the evils that possessed him left his body, he somehow let himself get beaten by his son, implying that he finally realized that his persecution and fear of Kratos created a self-fulling prophecy. He was also unfaithful to Hera, having cheated on his wife countless times and fathering many bastard children (including Kratos, Hercules and Deimos). He seemed to care very little about the well being of his own children, going as far as to dispose of his own sons Hephaestus and Kratos while imprisoning Deimos out of fear of being dethroned. Appearance Zeus appears as an old muscular white-haired man. His eyes are pure white, best seen in the cutscene in God of War II in which he kills Kratos. In his neutral, unaltered form he appears to stand well over 7 feet when compared to the already especially tall Kratos. In God of War II and in the opening scene of God of War III he wears white toga and golden arm guards, but after the start of the Second Titanomachy he replaces his toga with a golden side guard, possibly the Aegis of Zeus, that had similar powers to the Golden Fleece. Powers & Abilities As the King of Olympus, Zeus is the most powerful of all the Olympians, more so than even his brothers Poseidon and Hades. He possessed invincibility, power projection, electricity manipulation, and mastery over thunderbolts. He has displayed the following abilities: *'Weather Control' - As the God of the Sky, Zeus had control over the weather, such as generating thunderclouds or creating a tornado. *'Super Strength' - As the King of the Gods, Zeus possessed incredible levels of superhuman strength. He could easily overpower almost anything in Creation. His strength was second only to his son, Hercules. *'Super Speed' - As the god of lightning, Zeus could run at extremely fast speeds. He could run faster than speed of light or the lightning he commands. As demonstrated in the battles with Kratos, Zeus was able to evade attacks with the speed of lightning, appearing behind his opponent to strike. *'Teleporting' - Zeus has shown the ability to disappear in thin air, leaving a rain of electric charges behind, only to appear minutes later somewhere else. *'Portal Creation' - Zeus while under his Grave Digger guise, created a portal for Kratos to travel to the Underworld. *'Regeneration' - Zeus could regenerate from almost any wound. He can grow back just about any limb or organ back with ease. Ironically the Blade of Olympus, a weapon of his own creation can kill him. *'Shape-shifting' - Like all Olympians, Zeus was able to shape-shift. He made himself look as the oldest of the Olympians, despite actually being the youngest of his siblings. He could also transform himself into a giant eagle as well take the form of a human, or grow hundreds of feet tall, in God of War and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, he appeared to Kratos as the Grave Digger. *'Summoning' - Zeus was able to summon a legion of creatures to fight at his side, examples are the Siren Widows he used to fight Kratos at the end of God of War II. *'Mind Imprisonment '- In his astral form, Zeus was able to imprison Kratos in his own mind. *'Sealing' - Zeus was able to collect all the evils of the world and seal them inside of Pandora's Box. *'Animation' - Zeus was able to harness Kratos' godly powers, and use them to bring the Colossus of Rhodes to life. *'Power Bestowal' - Zeus was able to bestow his followers with vast electrical powers. *'Astral Projection' - Zeus was able to project an image of himself to communicate to Kratos, and grant him the power to use his thunderbolts. *'Weapon Creation '- Zeus was able to forge the Blade of Olympus from the Heavens and the Earth. *'Power Absorption' - Zeus was able to drain power from other beings in order to strengthen himself, such as when he drained Kratos' Godly powers, or when he drained Gaia's heart of her power. *'Immortality Removal' - Zeus was able to strip Prometheus of his Immortality. As a God, he possessed the powers of immortality and flight but was ironically vulnerable to the power of the Blade of Olympus, a weapon of his own creation. Zeus can manipulate the weather to create several kinds of natural storms. In God of War II, he created a tornado to assist in forging the Blade of Olympus and he also can create lighting shield. In God of War III, again he combined clouds and electricity to create a massive lightning bolt, which was powerful enough to knock Gaia and Kratos off Olympus and partially destroy her arm. Zeus was also a very capable fighter, and highly skilled in using his weapons, but he could also fight with his bare hands with great skill. His skill allowed him to hold his own well against Kratos in their fights. After his apparent death, Zeus displayed the power to manage his soul "to a higher existence" in means of overpowering his son and channeling the evils fueling his body, although Athena reached that potential before the evils managed to consume her. In this form, Zeus managed to generate a lightning blast so powerful it was able to disarm and destroy Kratos' weapons and equipment, and fueled the latter with fear, causing Kratos to be imprisoned within his own mind. Zeus was capable of creating duplicates of himself which, while they are less powerful than him, are able to use his basic electric-powered punches and a lightning explosion attack, one much weaker than the one that Zeus himself utilizes. In the fight against Zeus in God of War III, Kratos could use the clones against Zeus by the means of launching them, and then grabbing them while midair, causing Kratos to punch them to the ground, emitting the Lightning explosion when they hit the ground Gallery See Zeus/Gallery Videos Part 1 Part 2 Trivia *In the first game, he was voiced by Paul Eiding. In God of War: Ghost of Sparta, he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore. In God of War II and God of War III, he was voiced by Corey Burton. Corey Burton also provided the voice of Zeus in Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series. Coincidentally, Rip Torn, the voice of Hephaestus, provided the voice for Zeus in the 1997 Disney film Hercules. **Corey Burton returns to voice Zeus in [[God of War (2018)|''God of War (2018)]]. *In one of the bonus cut-scenes from God of War, Kratos reunites with his mother, discovering that Zeus is his father, who he would later take vengeance upon for abandoning him so many years before. Although this scene is not canon, the idea of Kratos being the son of Zeus was adapted for the sequels to come. This scene was seen in Ghost of Sparta, but in the Temple of Poseidon instead of Sparta. *In his mortal appearance, Zeus is still exceptionally tall, muscular and somewhat youthful looking for his age, due to being a god. He had white hair even whilst a newborn child, continuing into early adulthood. His eyes have no pupils, being the same when he was in his early adulthood. But when he was a baby and in ''God of War II gameplay, his eyes had dark blue irises and black pupils. His eyes make him appear blind, although he is clearly not, as this trait was likely added to make Zeus sinister. *It should be noted that, even though Zeus is the younger brother of Poseidon and Hades, he seems much older than the two. Given his ability to shape-shift, however, this could just be a matter of personal taste. In some sources, the regurgitating of Zeus' siblings is regarded as a rebirth of sorts, making Zeus both the youngest and oldest of his siblings. This, and the desire to command respect through age, could explain why he chooses to portray himself as older than his siblings. *In God of War, the Grave Digger that Kratos meets in his quest to destroy Ares has been confirmed to be Zeus in disguise, aiding Kratos in escaping the Underworld. The Grave Digger also claimed that Athena wasn't the only god watching over him, the revelation that The Grave Digger was in fact Zeus confirms this. This bears similarities to real Greek mythology, where the gods would often disguise themselves as humans in order to help them. *When Pandora's Box was first opened, Zeus was infected with the evil Fear. This caused him to grow more and more paranoid of Kratos overthrowing him. *According to God of War III, Zeus has had thoughts of revenge against his father Cronos since a very early age. On the ledge where Zeus' Eagle was found, a drawing of Cronos eating Zeus' siblings can be found. After taking a closer look to the right, another drawing can be seen, showing a stick figure, assumed to be Zeus, holding a sword and ripping open his father's insides to free its prisoners. *At the end of God of War III when Kratos charged a weakened Zeus, just before pummelling him to death, a sort of black mist evaporated from Zeus' mouth. This could have been the Evil from Pandora's Box that had infected him. *It is possible that Deimos' death in Ghost of Sparta made Zeus realize that the prophecy was not referring to Deimos as the marked warrior, but Kratos instead. *Each time Kratos had died before he managed to kill Zeus, the son-killing-father cycle ended, yet Zeus always re-initiated the cycle one way or another. *At the start of God of War III when Poseidon says "the death of Olympus means the death of us all''",'' he could have meant that if Zeus dies, then all living beings on the world would perish since different gods govern different aspects of the world. *It is unknown why Zeus didn't suspect any of his other sons to be a threat, as there were many besides Kratos and Ares (who strangely had no marks) that held contempt against him. This could possibly be due to the lack of any strange marks on the majority of them since the Oracle foretold that his usurper would be a "marked warrior". *In God of War III, when Kratos fights Zeus, the main theme music is Brothers of Blood. *Zeus is one of the mentors for [[God of War: Ascension|''God of War: Ascension's]] multiplayer. If the warrior chooses to submit their soul to the statue of Zeus on Olympus, they will gain skills that improve defense, speed, and magic. The initial weapon received for choosing Zeus is a gold and white hammer, but it can be replaced by a large sword with similar colors. Both weapons emit a gold light. *Zeus is ranked on 49th place of the Top 100 Video-game Villains on IGN. *While fighting Zeus in the heart of Gaia, Zeus summons clones, although differences can be noticed between them and the original Zeus: the clones are much paler and much weaker. *Zeus appears as the first boss in the ''God of War demake Bit of War. *It should be noted that Zeus saved Kratos' life two times, once as the Grave Digger and once when the Spartan was a child: Hera states that she wanted Kratos dead as he was a bastard child and so ordered Zeus to kill him when he was born; however, Zeus took pity and spared his son from death. *Zeus is a downloadable playable character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. That makes two playable characters and four overall (counting Kratos, Hades, and the Hydra). *Zeus is featured in the PS Vita game Destiny of Spirits. *Zeus' death at the end of God of War III is shown in the exact opposite to his brother Poseidon's death, with the former being seen through Kratos' perspective and the latter through Poseidon's eyes. *Zeus' line towards Gaia saying she should have chosen "the other one" was hypocritical as he was the one who made Gaia choose Kratos when he chose to capture Deimos. Had he captured Kratos instead, Gaia would have had to pick Deimos. *Zeus and Charon are the only characters who have bested Kratos in a fight. *When Zeus first appears in Helheim, he appears to Kratos as a face in the clouds, mirroring his first ever appearance in the original God of War, as just a head. *Zeus's death is reenacted by ghostly illusions from Kratos's memories. Related Pages *Statue of Zeus *Grave Digger *Zeus' Eagle, his Godly Possession *Lightning of Zeus *Zeus' Fury de:Zeus Category:Greek Gods Category:Characters Category:God of War Series Category:God of War: Ascension Category:God of War: Chains of Olympus Category:God of War Category:God of War: Ghost of Sparta Category:God of War II Category:God of War III Category:Enemies Category:Bosses Category:Allies Category:The Great War Category:Multiplayer Category:Males Category:Deceased Category:Astral Form Category:Greek Mythology Category:Immortals